Blood, Fire and Ice
by LivewithHonour
Summary: Titus Arnson doesn't like being a hero, sometimes it's almost enough to make him regret slaying Alduin. Two years have past and Skyrim has a new set of problems, rebels who just won't quit and a wave of vicious vampire attacks. Motivated by a particular hatred for vampires, Titus joins the Dawnguard, wrongly believing he has at last found an enemy he can feel no guilt for slaying.
1. Chapter 1

**Just a test first chapter, hope you guys enjoy it. If you do please shoot me a review, if I feel there's some interest, I'll bang out a new chapter pretty soon.**

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Titus sighed contentedly as he stepped into the inn, savouring the warm air that surrounded him, dispelling the last of the cold tendrils of the Skyrim air. Before he had returned to his homeland, back when he was growing up on a Legion Camp back down south, he had believed that he known what cold was. Now after two years of living in Skyrim he would call that kind of weather summer. He chuckled at the thought, eight years with the Legion may have taught him how to fight but two years in his father's homeland had been the making of him. Choosing the darkest corner of the inn, he sat with his back to the wall, groaning in relief as he removed the heavy steel helmet from his head and peeled the sweaty lining that stuck to his short black hair.

Titus didn't look like much like a typical Nord at first glance, he had inherited his Cyrodillian Mother's grey eyes and black hair that were rarely seen north of Bruma, combined with the short shaven Legion cut and his clean shaven features the only thing that distinguished him from a Cyrodillian Legionary was his fair skin. Still as his father had like to say, you can take the Nord out of Skyrim but you can't take Skyrim out of the Nord, Titus had lived up to that, it would've been impossible for him not to have been, he had idolized his father.

"Good day sir, is there anything I can get you? Perhaps a hot meal and some cold mead to chase away the cold Skyrim air?" Lifting his gaze from the sword belt his numb fingers were struggling to undo, Titus smiled reassuringly at the young Imperial women who looked nervously at the two swords that hung at the side of his belt

"That sounds wonderful, could you ask Keerava to get a room for me while you're at it" He paused for a moment, watching the girl shiver slightly as she scribbled down his order into a small notebook. "And don't worry, you'll get used to the cold, it's not so bad in the Rift anyhow, it's almost comparable to some parts of Cyrodiil in the summer."

"Oh you were with the Legion?"

"Eight years, mostly down by Bravil. Spent most of my time hunting down some insane cult of werewolves that moved in after the Thalmor withdrew; I left when my father was killed. He wanted his ashes to be spread in Skyrim, I wanted a change of scenery from howling werewolves and ripped apart bodies." He chuckled darkly "Not that that plan worked very well."The girl blanched slightly at this but she seemed reassured by his Legionary past, they may not be the most popular men in Skyrim but Legionaries were revered in the Empire's heartland. Finally his fingers managed to undo the buckle on his belt and he thumped the two swords down on the floor by his shield.

"Two swords and a shield?" The barmaid asked, a sceptical eyebrow raised "You compensating for something?" Titus chuckled at the joke, enjoying the chance to talk with the girl after weeks of travelling on the road by himself.

"Blame a Nordic father and Legionary training." He tapped the short sword that was propped up against the wall. "Standard issue for the Legion, designed to stab not hack, you get in close, take hits with the shield and then hit the vitals till they go down." He shrugged, works well when you're fighting in a unit, not so much when your own, which is why I have this." He patted his longsword lovingly "As my father would say, it's a true Nord's weapon, much more effective when you're spending most of your time on your own."

"I thought you left the Legion to get away from all the fighting?" The barmaid asked shyly

"I did but sometimes what you want and what fate has in store for you can clash. I needed the time away from the bloodshed, I needed the time to get my head straight." Titus smiled modestly "I'm good at fighting; I haven't got the skills to be anything else."

"You are a Nord" The barmaid giggled. She stopped abruptly after a few seconds, staring at Titus with wide brown eyes and a horrified expression on her pretty face. "No…I….I didn't mean…that…please don't be…" Titus held an outraged expression upon his face for a few moments before he could contain his laughter no longer, his mirth stopping the barmaids attempt to stutter out an explanation.

"Relax" He reassured the barmaid, whose tanned face had reddened as she realized that Titus had been joking with her. "If I'm honest most of my kinsmen would take that as a compliment, strong arms, fine steel and sturdy horses are what most men, and women for that matter, are concerned with her."

"You beast" The barmaid growled playfully, swatting Titus's chainmail clad arm "I really thought I'd offended you."

"I am very sorry…I didn't get your name, mine's Titus, Titus Arnson"

"Flavia, just call me Flavia. Titus doesn't sound very Nordic?" Titus snorted, a smirk on his face.

"I know, trust me I know. I've been told that by every gods-be-damned one of my kinsman who know my name. My mother was an imperial and her grandfather's name was given to me, apparently she had quite the argument with my Father about it. But though my Father was a lion on the battlefield, with my mother he was like a mouse."

"I know the type" Flavia giggled once more, Titus stomach growled angrily and the young Imperial tutted "Oh Mara, look at me chatting away here while you're here wasting away. You stay right here while I fetch you that warm meal." She gave Titus one last shy smile before turned away in whirl of red fabric and sleek black hair, threading her way through the busy evening crowd.

Titus smirked as he watched her weave through the crowd; he had spent the past two weeks travelling alone through the wilderness of Falkreath hold. Someone had sent a note to his Falkreath home informing him that a dragon had been spotted deep in the forest which in turn had sent Titus deep into the forest which was an arduous journey at the best of times but even more so when the winter snow lay heavily on the forest floor. Titus had stumbled and suffered through the snow for two weeks before he had decided that the letter had been a hoax or some short sighted farmer had seen an eagle in the sky and panicked.

Still in some ways he had preferred the solitude, though he could have done without the bone chilling cold. Truth be told Titus was fed up with being a damn hero, of being Dragonborn. Sure it had been fun at first however as time passed the constant adulation, the requests, the favours, the problems, the expectations of what he should and shouldn't do had begun to grate on his nerves. Titus longed for the anonymity that he had had before he slain Alduin, to be able to just stroll into an inn and not have to hide in a dark corner to avoid being recognised.

"Hello lad, how are you today?" Titus's thoughts were interrupted by Brynjolf, who clapped him on the shoulder as he sat down heavily on the bench, some of the ale spilling out of his pewter mug.

"Fine Brynjolf, any _favours _I can do for you today?"

"Aww laddie, your not still sore about the last one are you?"

"Just a bit" Titus exclaimed "I ask you whether one old man is hiding in the Ratway and you cash in the favour by asking me to accompany Mercer in the hunt of deadly former thief."

"Yeah" Brynjolf admitted "But she turned out to be completely innocent"

"She still shot me" Titus grumbled "And that whole affair dragged me into a Dwemer ruin filled with Falmer in the hunt for that bastard, which ended with me nursing some pretty painful injuries and you as the leader of the Thieves Guild."

"We had fun though" Brynjolf grinned widely as he drained the remainder of his ale "As I recall we also made a pretty penny out those giant gems we plucked from that Snow Elf statue, allowed you to build that fancy house."

"Yes well I hate Falmer, they freak me out" Titus muttered

"Says the man who slays dragons for a living" Brynjolf laughed "Well I see your lady friend is returning so I'll be quick. I just wanted to say that I know the Thieves Guild owes you a lot, you ever need anything, you just have ask my friend." Titus shook his hand and sent Brynjolf a genuine smile as the thief stumbled off into the night, no doubt some scheme rolling around in his crafty mind. Titus's hand moved to check his coin purse was intact, experience had taught him that while he could trust the man with his life, his gold was completely different matter, the man just couldn't seem to help himself.

His eyes swept the tavern looking for anyone suspicious as Riften, being the first major city after the border, always had a new influx of people. Ever since the civil war had ended travel over the border had become easier therefore Riften had become busier. It was of the reasons that Titus was so fond of the city, new faces meant it was easier to remain anonymous, just to be another travelling sell-sword looking for employment in the ever restless Skyrim. However that also meant it was easier for would be assassins to get closer to Titus, one of the many downsides to being a hero was that as many people as you saved, there were just as many that you pissed off, especially when you played a key role in a bitter civil war that had only ended six months ago.

"I'm back" Flavia trilled as she laid down a steaming steak in front of Titus along with a mug of equally hot liquid that he could not identify.

"It's tea" Flavia explained "My mother used to say there was nothing better for chasing the cold out of a body than a piping hot cup of tea and you look like you use it."

"Years of sentry duty on cold nights in the Legion confirm that particular wives tale" Titus confirmed as he sipped the tea gently, savouring the warm tendrils that spread through his body as it slipped down his throat.

"So get into any trouble while I was gone" Flavia teased as she settled herself down next to him once more.

"Me…in trouble?" Titus asked innocently "I never get in trouble"

"Oh?" Flavia asked in a sweet tone "Then what's large dent on your shoulder thingy?"

"You mean my pauldron?" Titus laughed "Ok maybe trouble has a habit of finding me but I'm usually pretty good at surviving it" Flavia's eyes shifted back to the large dent on his shoulder. "Orc with a greatsword" He shrugged "I was tired, he was quicker than most. It's rare to come out of a fight unharmed, most guys at least have scrapes and bruises."

"So what new adventure brings you to Riften? Hunting dragons?" She joked, flashing Titus a glance of white teeth.

"No, nothing like that" Titus laughed nervously "I'm actually looking to join the Dawnguard, vampires have been a bit of a problem. Shit" The last word came as the pewter mug shattered in his tight grip, boiling water spilling out onto him.

"Oh dear, I'll just get something to clear that up" She told him as she stood up hurriedly, making a beeline for the counter where Keerava was busy serving drinks to thirsty patrons. Titus pulled a jagged shard from his palm, staunching the blood with a strip of cloth torn from the table cloth. Hurriedly gathering his belongings, he jammed his helmet back onto his head, he'd spent enough time resting, it was time he got moving. He paused at the door to stare regretfully at the mess he had made, he had liked Flavia but she was better off without a fucked up old soldier like him around. Old, he laughed bitterly to himself, he was twenty eight, a young man in the prime of life by most standards but ten years of war, death, blood and slaughter made him old before his time, especially in the dead if night when he saw the faces of the comrades who died beside him, of the men he had killed and of those he had failed to save. Still he reassured himself, at least he wouldn't have any of those qualms with the Dawnguard. Vampires were beasts nothing more, he had more sympathy for the dragons he had slain than he did for the vampires who had met their end at the point of his sword.

He kept his head low as he strode out of the city, the last thing he wanted was to be recognised while he was in this mood, he'd never been fantastic at controlling his temper and if someone pushed him too far he might very well throw them in the damn canal. He sped up as he left through the cities southern gate, hoping to replace the anger with exhaustion. Damn vampires, he swore to himself, they had started causing trouble months ago but with the after effects of the civil war and continuing skirmishes between the Legion and the remnants of the Stormcloaks, which were still ongoing, had left the Empire ill equipped to do more than defend the towns from attack. Titus himself had had dragons to deal with, Delphine had managed to convince him that dragons were the greater threat so he had, reluctantly, stayed away from the fight. However with the recent lack of dragon sightings and the reformation of the Dawnguard he figured that it was time he joined the fight.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the reviews, they're much appreciated.**

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Titus blinked as he stepped into the warm afternoon sun, he lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the light as he waited for his to adjust to light after over an hour of marching through the dark cave which delved under the mountains and was the fastest way to the valley where the Dawnguard had made their headquarters. A smile crept onto his face as his eyes adjusted and the beautiful sight of the valley was revealed to him. A waterfall fell from high in the mountains, rushing down the rock face to pour into a large lake which lapped gently on the shore. A thin layer of snow dusted the ground like sugar on a pastry. Movingly carefully down the steep slope, he kneeled by the lake's edge and dipped his canteen into the cold water refilling the vessel which had been almost drained as Titus navigated the difficult path through the cave.

Titus grunted as he climbed back to his feet, his tired limbs making his armour seem heavier than usual. He gave himself a quick pat down, checking that all of his valuables were still there before he shouldered his worn haversack and slowly made his way back up the steep path, using a stout piece of wood to help him claw his way back to the path.

"Hey there" Titus spun round, a hand moving to the hilt of his longsword automatically. The voice had not sounded threatening, quite the opposite in fact, the voice had sounded warm and friendly though there was an hint of nervousness. Titus's many previous encounters with bandit ambushes on the roads of Skyrim had made him paranoid when he met travellers on the road, bitter experience had taught him that it was better to scare an innocent than be taken by surprise.

"Greetings, how may I help you?" Titus asked gruffly, his eyes darting around trying to discover if the man had any accomplices hidden in the sparse bushes that dotted around the landscape.

"Relax friend" The blonde hair man held his hands up placatingly "I mean you no harm" He gestured down to the coarse green shirt he was wearing "I am have no armour and my only weapon is this old axe." Relaxing slightly, Titus paid more attention to the young man who stood in front of him. He stood a head shorter than Titus six foot frame with a mane of long blonde flowing down to the base of his neck. He had a solid enough frame, the corded muscle one commonly saw on the woodsman that often sold their wares in Falkreath. The iron war axe that hung on his waist was old, with a chip in the blade. Titus guessed that it was an old family relic carried by a grandfather or some other relative in the Great War against the Thalmor and since then had hung above a fire place gathering dust.

"Why are you here in the middle of nowhere kinsman?" Titus asked a bit more pleasantly, more confident now that the man didn't pose a threat to him. He let his hand fall away from the hilt of sword in an effort to reassure the man that he was not going to attack, though his right hand crept to the knife that was hidden behind his belt, Titus had been fooled before by an adversary pretending to be an innocent bystander.

"I'm going to join the Dawnguard" Agmaer exclaimed, puffing out his chest proudly

"Really? So am I, we might as well travel together then?"

"Great" The young man grinned "I should introduce myself if we are to be comrades at arms, my name is Agmaer Ivarsson."

"Titus Arnson" Titus replied, finally relaxing fully. "A pleasure to meet you." The two turned to walk up the snow covered path in a companionable silence.

"So have you fought much before" Agmaer asked nervously after they had walked for a few minutes

"Eight years in the Legion and two selling my services in Skyrim" Titus replied gruffly, unwilling to go into much detail about either of the two, especially with someone he had just met.

"Really? Wow I bet Isran, the leader of the Dawnguard, will be really happy to have you. Me, I doubt it, I've never even been in a fight before. I hope Isran doesn't see how nervous I am."

"Relax" Titus snapped, Agmaer stopped his nervous babble looking so pitiful that Titus regretted his loss of temper, it was natural for the kid to be nervous and it wasn't his fault that Titus's mood had not been at it's best since the vampire attacks had begun. "Sorry, but don't over think things, you're always going to have nerves. Nerves are good, they keep you sharp, keep you alive. _But _only if you don't let them consume you, if you do then you'll just freeze up when it's time to act. So embrace the damn nerves, take control and you'll do fine" Titus hesitated for a moment before awkwardly clapping his hand on Agmaer's shoulder. Agmaer seemed comforted by Titus's words, muttering the advice over and over like a mantra. His guilt over his angry words to Agmaer assuaged Titus moved ahead more quickly hoping that they would arrive at the Dawnguard's headquarters soon, a hot meal and warm bed were what he needed to raise his spirits. The path twisted round a large mountain and Titus's jaw dropped as he saw the fort that the Dawnguard had taken as their base.

Titus had seen many castles and forts in his days with Legion ranging from wooden palisades to towering stone walls but never had he seen something so formidable nor as intimidating as Fort Dawnguard. The towers seemed to climb impossibly high into the sky, the tip of the tower appearing to brush the undersides of the clouds. The walls were at least twice as thick as any Titus had ever seen in his career as a soldier or as a mercenary, they were thick enough that Titus guessed that you could place a formation ten ranks deep on the wall and they'd still have room to spare. The masons had managed to find some sort of white stone that seemed to makes the walls shine under the bright winter sun, the walls somehow managing to escape the ravages of time and the weather to retain that whiteness. The castle seemed appropriate to fight vampires, Titus admitted, the stout walls would help to counter the speed and strength of the Molag Bal's servants.

"Shor's bones" Agmaer exclaimed as he caught up with Titus "I thought Dragonsreach was big but this…this is something else."

"That it is" Titus said in reply, settling his pack more comfortably on his shoulders as he strolled towards the fort's gateway. The grandeur of the fort had soothed many of the nagging doubts he had about the Dawnguard. Many of the other groups dedicated to hunting monsters were pitiful, some like the Silver Hand had become little more than a badly armed rabble while others like the Vigilants of Stendarr were woefully under prepared and untrained when they had to face adversaries of strength.. If the Dawnguard's headquarters were anything to go by, they appeared to be a more prepared fighting force, which they would need to be if they were going to take the fight to the vampires. Titus had seen the bloodsucking fiends tear apart a cohort of veteran legionaries…no, he told himself fiercely, the last thing he needed was to be reliving that particular memory.

Titus heard a strange click punctuated by a thud as he and Agmaer walked under one of large arches that connected the outlying towers to the main body of the fort.

"What in Ysmir's name is making that sound?" Agmaer whispered nervously to Titus, the young nord's hand rushing to grip his old iron war axe.

"You won't need that" Titus reassured him, a smile making its way onto his features as he recognised the sound. An orc, wearing an odd armour that looked like small rectangular steel plates sewn together on a leather jerkin, was firing a crossbow at a straw dummy. The bolts whirred unerringly into the body, the heart and head of the dummy were pierced by several bolts already. A fierce grin was spread across his face, his white fangs standing out clearly against the dark green skin.

"Ha newcomers, here to kill blood suckers are you? Names Durak" He chuckled, his deep voice echoing of the surrounding walls, another bolt thumped into the dummy as he laughed, the vibrations of his mirth not throwing his aim off in the slightest. He saw Agmaer staring at his crossbow with a puzzled expression on his face. "It's a crossbow Nord, you don't see 'em much in Skyrim but there ain't no better weapon for slaying vampires than a crossbow. Even if you miss the vitals the force of one of these babies is enough to knock 'em back a couple places. Either of you want give it try?" Durak smirked at Titus daring him to try, never one to back down from a little friendly competition Titus stepped forward and picked up one of the crossbows that lay on the nearby bench.

"Five gold pieces?" He asked casually as aimed the already loaded crossbow

"Five?" Durak laughed "I'll give you ten if you can hit the damn target on your first try. I'll give you fair warning, the kickback's a bitch, if you're not careful you're more likely to shoot a damn bird down than you are to hit the target."

"Ten it is" Titus agreed, fighting to keep the smirk of his face. He jammed the stock against his shoulder, lining up the shot to hit the center of mass like his drill master had taught him. The bolt was launched forward by the firing mechanism, propelled through the groove the steel bolt cut through the air before slamming into the dummy just the top of the rib cage. He grimaced slightly, he had been aiming lower but he been caught slightly by the recoil, it had been a while since he had fired one he consoled himself.

"You bastard" Durak exclaimed before breaking out into laughter "You've shot one of these before"

"Yeah" Titus admitted, finally allowing the smirk to break out onto his face "They're part of basic training in the Legion. Centurions love them as they are easy to use and they can punch through most armours. Haven't shot one in while though, I can just about hit a target but I'm no archer."

"No" Durak agreed "But you're not the worst shot I've ever seen. Keep the crossbow, might come in handy, they're easier to carry around as well." He held up a hand to forestall any arguments from Titus. "I know you might be handy with those swords of yours but those vampires can pin you down with their damn magic, a crossbow may well save your life."

"I suppose" Titus acquiesced grudgingly, Durak did have a point, the extra weight would be annoying however if it kept him alive then it was probably a burden worth bearing.

"Good to see common sense can still through that thick Nord skull of yours, the Legion must have softened it up when they were beating all those drills into it." Durak slapped Titus on the back, the strength behind the blow causing Titus to stumble forward slightly "You better be on your way Isran will want to talk to you."

"Thanks" Titus replied as he walked up the path with an all too eager Agmaer who had kept his difference from the burly Orc. The lad had probably rarely ventured from the forests of Falkreath, Titus was willing to bet it was the first time Agmaer had seen a Orc, some Nords led very sheltered lives. It was probably, Titus thought ruefully, why so many Nords were xenophobic and not as understanding towards other races. Those that had served in the Legion were generally more aware that Tamriel's other races had a lot to offer, most likely because their fellow legionaries showed the warrior spirit that Nords prized above all else.

As they came up to the thick oak doors, a red headed Breton waved them inside cheerfully informing them that Isran had a welcoming speech for them. The entrance hall was large round room that soared high into the air making the room appear dizzyingly large. A grizzled Redguard stood in the middle of the room, on a platform above a pool of shimmering water, at well over 6ft the Redguard was an intimidating sight, made only more so by the battleaxe that he carried on his back as if it were as light as a feather. The Redguard stroked his greying black beard thoughtfully as he stared at them before he spoke, his bass tones bouncing off the walls making his voice seem even louder.

"So you two want to join the Dawnguard eh? You think you've got the stones to stare down a vampire? You think you've got the skills to kill those monsters? The Dawnguard were formed long ago for the single purpose of ridding all of Tamriel of those fiends and I've reformed it for just that purpose. If you can prove to me that you've got what it takes then we'll get along just fine. Now just who are you?"

The question was left unanswered as a Nord wearing the uniform of the Vigilants of Stendarr burst into the room, the heavy doors crashing behind him, cutting off a sarcastic comment from the Breton who stood guard outside.

"Isran" He yelled furiously, squaring up to Isran despite the fact the man towered above him "The Vigilants have been attacked, our hall is burned to the ground and Keeper Carcette is dead."

"I warned you Tolan" Isran spoke in his growling tone "I warned all of you that the vampires were a threat that we could not ignore but you all laughed at me, told me I was paranoid."

"Yes I know" Tolan snapped "You were right, we were wrong and we paid for that mistake with our lives. Now will you help me take revenge on them Isran. Brother Adalvald was convinced he had found something to do with the fiends in Dimhollow Crypt though we foolishly dismissed the claims." He paused to glare at Isran who had snorted derisively at the last comment. "Yes Isran it was another mistake, I don't need to be reminded of our failings, will you help me?"

"Look Tolan, I'm sorry for what happened to the Keeper's I really am. I suppose if there are vampires are in Dimhollow Crypt then I could send some of men to investigate, in the mean time you could…"

"I will be accompanying whoever you send to Dimhollow Crypt" Tolan growled

"Tolan I…" Isran tried to say in an unusually quiet voice that was totally at odds with the demeanour he had displayed so far.

"No" Tolan cut Isran off "I know what you think of me Isran, what you think of all Vigilants. You think that we're soft, that we can't handle ourselves in real fight. Well maybe you're right but by Stendarr I will avenge my comrades or die in the attempt. If you want to send help then do so." He finished his loud tirade before turning to stride angrily out of the fort.

"Just wait outside the damn cave for my man to arrive, don't go in alone" Isran called out after he furious Vigilant.

"That's just what I need" Isran groaned, running a hand belatedly over his bald head. "Well someone needs to go after him before the fool gets himself killed. What about you?" He asked himself, staring at Titus with a critical eye. He strolled up to him, his eyes roving over Titus's weaponry and armour. "You ex Legion, you have that look of one of them."

"Yes sir" Titus replied, his body snapping to attention as years of Legion drilling rose to the surface "Eight years in the Fourteenth Legion, 3rd Cohort, 2nd Century sir. Reached the rank of Optio after six years service."

"Impressive" Isran said grudgingly "Not many make Optio after only six years. So why do you want to join the Dawnguard?"

"I have my reasons for killing vampires" Titus replied shortly, not willing to be drawn out any further on the specifics.

"I see hatred in your eyes, that's good, hate will keep you strong. Now look Legionary, I trust you heard my little _exchange _with Tolan. I need you to got to Dimhollow Crypt, north-west of the Hall of the Vigilant, I need to you to investigate these vampire rumours with Tolan. Most of the gears still packed up" Isran admitted ruefully, waving a hand round the room which was littered with half opened crates and barrels. "If you find anything you can take it."

"Thank you but I'd best leave immediately, see if I can't catch up with Tolan" Titus right arm thumped onto his chest above his heart in the typical legion salute before he turned smartly on his heel and marched out of the door. He heard Isran talking to Agmaer as the doors shut behind him, something him how to use a crossbow but he was too focused on his new mission to pay the matter much mind, Agmaer seemed to be in good hands with Isran, the old warrior certainly seemed capable, eccentric maybe but capable.


	3. Chapter 3

Titus paused outside the entrance to the Dimhollow crypt, glancing around him as he searched for the balding head and grim features of Tolan. He hoped that he had managed to beat the Vigilant to the crypt, as he had cut through the mountains he had passed by the burned out husk that had once been the Hall of the Vigilant. However those of the Order had not lived up to their name that night. Titus had noticed, as he poked through the ash, that many of the Vigilants were half dressed. The number of fallen Vigilants far exceeded the paltry number of dead vampires; obviously the Vigilants had not put up much of a fight even taking into account the surprise with which the attack had been launched. The sight had worried Titus, his confidence in the abilities of Tolan lowered even further, he had hurried up the steep slopes of the mountain path hoping that his shortcuts had allowed him to overtake Tolan but it appeared that he had failed. Still if Talos favoured him Tolan could have gone into the cave just before him, the blizzard that raged around the mountainside was vicious enough to stop a man from seeing his own hand if he held it out in front of him, he certainly wouldn't have seen another man struggling up the path ahead of him..

Titus pulled his sword out of its sheath staring at the oiled steel for a few moments before sliding it back , the frost had a habit of making blades stick, something that could be deadly at the best of times let alone when you were facing an enemy with the speed and strength possessed by vampires. He untied his helmet from where it hung on his belt and pulled into his head, Titus preferred to fight without it generally, the damn thing was heavy besides which it obscured his peripheral vision, on most occasions Titus would choose seeing and avoiding the blow over his helmet blocking the blow any day. However against an enemy like vampires dodging a blow was not always an option. He stooped down to stuff and handful of snow into his mouth, the water his canteen had long since frozen solid. Unhooking the crossbow from his waist Titus grunted as he wrenched the lever back, drawing the cord to the back of the mechanism before slotting a bolt into the groove. He pushed the stock tightly into his shoulder as he stepped into the dark gloom of Dimhollow crypt, his ears straining for the slightest sound.

He did not have to strain for too long however, the voices of three vampires laughing echoing through the caverns of Dimhollow alerting him to their presence long before they came into sight. Titus crouched low as the narrow tunnel he had been following opened up into a large cave, the light of several torches standing out starkly in the darkness. Moving slowly lest the clank of steel give him away Jack took cover behind a large boulder that sat at the edge of the path, the rest sloped downwards to his left, gently dropping ten feet or so till it reached the cave floor. He slipped his helmet off, the polished steel was apt to reflect the torchlight, and the glint would mark him out like a lighthouse on a foggy day... He grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground, smearing it over the helmet to stop any glint before carefully replacing it onto his head.

Tentatively poked his head out from behind the rock, he was confident that the darkness would shield him from sight but it was hard to be sure with unnatural creatures like vampires. Many myths surrounded Molag Bal's minions some, such as the notion they could transform into a terrible creature that was both bat and man, were utterly ridiculous but there plenty of realistic rumours that even the Dawnguard were unable to completely separate fact from fiction. Three vampires stood in a loose circle, laughing as they joked, Titus eyes widened as he saw two bodies lying at their feet. He stared at the bodies trying to see their features but his eyes were unable to pierce the black shadows that surrounded them. He was about to curse in frustration when one of the vampires shifted, moving to lean against one of the crude stone pillars that were dotted around the cave. His movement allowed the light from the flickering torches to reach the dead men's faces.

Titus's jaw clenched, his fist softly pounding the floor as the light revealed Tolan's features, his mouth forming a round O and his eyes wide with surprise. The other dead body was that of a vampire, his long grey hair obscuring most of his features but the bright white teeth almost glowed in the dark, apparently Tolan had managed to gain some small measure vengeance before the others swarmed upon him like dogs to raw meat. He had been a fool, Titus thought frustratedly, death came often enough in Skyrim that there was no need for fools like Tolan to rush to meet it. Still Titus would happy enough to avenge the man's death.

An angry bark sounded off in the darkness to Titus's left and he almost leapt up into the air, convinced that he had been discovered. Luckily some instinct made him huddle further behind the rock. His instincts were proved to be good a few seconds later when the bark was answered by a second one, the sounds of growling and paws scraping on rock filled the cave.

"Knock it off." One of the vampires snarled angrily, his sharp tone causing the dogs to settle into silence once more barring the occasional low growl. Staring more closely in the direction of the scuffle, Titus managed to make out two bright pairs of amber eyes in the darkness, the dark fur of the dogs making it impossible for him to make out any more than that.. hefting the crossbow once more Titus shifted his aim to the closest pair of eyes, he laid a second bolt on the ground beside him for easy reach in the hope that he would have time to reload. The vampires were the greater threat but unless he did not trust his aim enough to be confident of hitting their heart.

A sharp click made Titus wince as he pulled the trigger, the bolt flying out into the darkness. Titus's only confirmation that the bolt had struck was a loud thump followed by a whimper that died down before Titus had wrenched back the lever once more, grunting at the effort. A menacing growl rose above the alarmed vampire's shouts and Titus swore as he realised that the other dog had found him. His fingers fumbled as he scratched around in the darkness searching for the bolt, wasting precious moments before his relieved fingers found it and slid it into place. He span round to face the path that twisted upwards from the cave floor, his flank still protected from any magical attack by the large rock.

A vampire yelled an incantation, the words meaningless to Titus but he crouched down lower expecting a fire ball or some other type of spell to crash into the rock. Instead he was blinded as a bright ball shot into the air, its white light illuminating the cave. Titus blinked rapidly, desperately trying to regain his vision and only too aware of the ever loudening of paw steps. He could just make out a large black blur racing towards him, praying to Talos that his aim would be true; Titus lifted the crossbow up and waited for the blur to come closer hoping that eventually he would be unable to miss. When the blur was too close for him to bear he pulled the trigger, the crossbow jerking upwards with the recoil. He heard the bolt smash into flesh but the black blur did not stop, his vision had begun to clear enough to see a mouthful of large, snarling teeth hurtling towards him. The black blur smashed into him, pinning Titus against the rock. Titus scrambled desperately for the dagger that he kept behind his waist for a few moments before he realised that the dog was unmoving, staring more closely now that his heart had begun to slow, Titus saw the steel tip of the bolt poking through the back of the dog's neck.

The shouts of the vampire's jerked him back to reality roughly, he groaned as he shoved the heavy bulk of the dead animal off him and springing to his feet as quickly as he could in the heavy steel armour. He pulled off his shield from where it hung on his back and slid his arm into the two leather straps in the back before sliding his long sword out. He rapped it on the metal rim of his shield a couple of times before roaring out a challenge to the three vampires that stared at him.

"Come meet your deaths you bloodsucking sons of whores."

"Excellent." The oldest vampire grinned, baring his fangs with a hungry expression on his face "I was getting hungry and one man just wasn't enough for us. But two, two should just about sate our appetites." Then the three were charging him, moving as fast as a horse could gallop.

The narrow path probably saved Titus, they could only charge one at a time, the slope gave Titus the high ground and his long sword gave him more reach than the daggers and short swords the vampires were armed with. The female was the first to reach him snarling viciously as she crashed into him, the force making Titus slide back a few paces before he could regain his grip and bash her in the face with his shield, the metal boss in the center crunching into her nose. She fell backwards with a howl of pain which was quickly silenced by a quick thrust to the heart. The next vampire rushed him as he straightened from the thrust, the war axe hammering down on to his shield as Titus struggled to knock the vampire back far enough for his long sword to be effective. Swearing as he felt yet another blow slam onto his shield Titus rammed the hilt of the long sword, which was trapped between his and the vampires jostling bodies, into the gut of the vampire, winding the vampire thereby buying Titus a few precious seconds. He was about to swing the long sword, aiming to separate the vampire's head from its shoulders when a low hiss from his right caused to jerk his head sideways in time to see the third vampire leap up onto the rock which had been protecting his flank.

"Fus." He shouted urgently, there was not even enough time for him to speak the other words but the partial shout was enough to knock the vampire back into the darkness. Returning his attention to the other vampire he saw that the effects of his blow were wearing off very quickly. Titus dropped his long sword, urgently tugging out his short sword and holding it horizontally in an over hand grip behind his shield. The vampire leaped at Titus, who had crouched in effort to hold his ground, not wanting to be forced into the more open area behind him where the vampire's speed could prove deadly. Titus smiled as felt the vampire slam into his shield, the creature trying to shove him backwards once more. His short sword sprang out from behind his shield, plunging into the side of the vampire like a silver viper. Once, twice, three times Titus stabbed before his short sword managed to find its target, the vampire's heart.

A feral grin crept on to Titus face as the vampire slumped to the floor before he heard a chuckle bounce off of the walls of the cave.

"Well done mortal but your efforts just mean that there'll just be more me to eat. I'm kind of pleased, I do hate sharing." A frost bolt smashed into Titus, the sharp spike did not manage to pierce his armour but it still sent him flying backwards his sword falling from his grip as he crashed into the wall. He heard the vampire's boot crunching on the dirt as he strolled forward, obviously condiment that Titus was too wounded to put up much of a fight.

"Arrogant, bloodsucking bastards." Titus muttered to himself, his hand finding the hilt of his long sword. He lay still, playing dead as he lay on his stomach, hand loosely curled over his long sword ready to strike.

"Ha, not so tough when faced by the might of a vampire master are you mortal?" The vampire laughed as he kicked Titus dismissively. With a roar Titus spun round, the long sword shipping round to cleave into the vampire's skull, cutting through brain and bone until it became jammed. Titus groaned in relief as he lay on his back.

"I fucking hate vampires." He announced to the empty cave as he allowed himself a few moments of rest before climbing back to his feet. His long sword required some effort to yank it from the skull but after a few moments of pulling the blade came loose. Titus stared at it for a few moments before shaking his head and, after a quick clean with rag, he slid it back into its sheath. The speed of the vampires meant that he would stand a better chance with quick stabs of the short sword.

He moved carefully down the pathway, sword and shield at the ready. He had not wanted to use his shouts but circumstances had forced him to, now he only pray that Stendarr had enough mercy that the other vampires would not have heard it. He rolled his eyes as he saw the metal bars that blocked his path further into the caves.

"Nothing is ever easy, is it?" Titus sighed, frustratedly running a hand through his short hair, turning away from the blocked entrance. As he turned his eye was caught by a section of the cave wall that stood out from the rest. Moving closer Titus saw what had made the wall stand out, it was made from smooth stone blocks with a small archway that led inside. Holding his shield out in front of him with his sword ready to leap out from behind it, Titus moved into the small building checking the corners for any other vampires that might be lying in wait for him. He grinned when he saw the lever on the wall, thanking the gods for one small bit of luck.

The lever was easy pull down which was a nice change from some of the ancient Nord ruins he had been in, levers and mechanisms were often rusted almost to the point that of uselessness which meant the most tiring part of them was getting the damn levers down.

"I do this way too often." Titus sighed as he walked down the narrow tunnel, snapping off an arrow shaft that was buried in his left shoulder, he would dig the arrow head out later. One of the damn vampires had been a necromancer, as soon as he had walked into the room she had raised half a dozen skeletons, one of who had managed to sneak an arrow past his shield and under his pauldron before he had cut the vampire down. He had one or two healing potions that could heal the wound but Titus preferred to save the expensive potions for more serious injuries. Titus experimented, gritting his teeth as he practiced blocking various strikes, there was pain but so far he hadn't experienced any loss of movement.

"Die you foul beast." Titus stared warily down the tunnel as an elven voice drawled in the usual arrogant manner that Titus had learned to associate with vampires. As he turned the corner he was faced with another tall metal gate. Sidling up to the gate, Titus glanced through the bars to see a vampire hacking at a giant frost spider, occasionally sending a fist full of lightning towards the spider. Titus grimaced when he saw that the opening lever was on the opposite side of the gate, whoever won out of the two's duel would be a formidable enough opponent without him losing his only advantage, surprise.

Reattaching the shield to the sling on his back, Titus shuffled forwards on his belly, making himself as small as possible. Slowly he dragged himself along the ground, pausing often to check that the battle was still ongoing. Titus's nerves were beginning to fray when he finally reached the other side of the wall, slipping behind the craggy stone wall. He climbed carefully to his feet, one hand moving to grasp his shield, holding it tightly so the heavy, round thing couldn't clatter off of the wall. Titus grunted as he pulled the lever down, the damn thing sticking slightly as he forced it down. The gate squealed as rusted metal slowly lifted upwards.

Poking his out past the rock face Titus saw that the frost spider looked to be on its last legs, He tugged his shield from his back, shuffling under the still rising gate as he charged the vampire who had just plunged his blade into the spider's head. The vampire hissed angrily as he twisted round to face Titus's charge, his sword scything towards Titus's side. Titus rolled under the swing, roaring with pain as his injured hit the ground. As he came up he rammed the rim of his shield into the vampire's knee, causing the creature to stagger as the leg buckled. Launching himself upwards Titus rammed his sword into the soft flesh below the jaw, his momentum sending the two of them sprawling onto the floor.

Titus heaved heavily for a moment, letting his nerves calm after a stressful few minutes. A minute passed before Titus galvanised himself to rise and tug his blade free from the confines of the vampires skull.

"It's going to be a long day isn't it?" Titus asked himself as he moved towards a large wooden door cut into the cave wall, hoping that the next vampire would take it easy on him and give him a much needed break.


	4. Chapter 4

Titus's jaw dropped as he walked out onto the narrow stone balcony, what had been a narrow series of tunnels had opened up into a vast cave large enough that you could fit the whole of Riverwood in and still have plenty of room to spare. The bottom of the cave was filled with water, a narrow bridge the only path to a raised platform that stood high in the centre of the cave. Titus moved to edge of the ornate stone railing that stood at the far end of the narrow stone balcony, his gaze still fixed by the eerie view before him.

"I won't tell you anything you foul fiends." A voice spoke defiantly despite the obvious pain that the speaker was experiencing. Titus eyes widened as he realised that there were figures below the balcony, two in the familiar gothic armour that vampires were fond of while the third lay on the floor, clothed in the tatters of a vigilant robe. Titus shuffled back rapidly, pressing his body against the wall and praying that the vampires would not lift their gaze to the balcony. His body almost sagged with relief as the vampires laughed, mocking the old Vigilant. While they taunted and imitated their prisoner Titus began to edge himself to his right, the floor of the balcony began to slope down after ten feet or so. Titus was hoping that it would allow him to get down to the same level as the vampires, if he remained up on the balcony he would be slaughtered by the vampire's magical attacks.

The stone path turned to earth as he descended onto small island, a stone bridge linking his island to the one where the vampires tormented their prisoner. The man's howls of pain indicating that the vampires had grown tired of mocking him, instead they had resorted to torturing him to amuse themselves. Titus gritted his teeth, biting back his fury as he crept closer to the two vampires who were using their blades to slice flesh in a macabre competition to see who get the old vigilant to scream the loudest. Still, Titus thought bitterly as he began to cross the final bridge between him and his prey, their malice would be their downfall. The screams of the old man hid the metallic clank of his armour as he slowly advanced towards them, his eye's fixed on the female high elf who stood closest to him.

Titus was just a handful of paces away when the older male imperial jerked round, the shock on his face quickly fading to a distasteful glare.

"Kill him." He spoke tersely to his companion. "I must complete our mission or Harkon will have my head on a platter." His companion hissed in reply, they exchanged a nod before the elder one strode off towards the central platform. The female pivoted round on her heel, a malicious grin on her face as she tossed a dagger from hand to hand. The expression vanished as Titus launched himself recklessly towards her, gambling that the distance between them and his momentum would allow him to knock the vampire off her feet.

The gods must have been watching over him, for Titus smashed into the vampire shield first, an ugly cracking sound echoing off of the cavern walls as his shield connect with the arms the vampire had thrown up in a vain attempt to protect herself. Titus armoured bulk lifted the vampire into the air, the two of the flying for a brief moment before they crashed into one of the solid stone columns that reached upwards. His brief flight set Titus's helmet loose and plunging him in to darkness. Without his sword, which had fallen from his grip as he rammed into the vampire, or his sight Titus felt horribly defenceless, he scrambled backwards while one hand frantically ripped the helmet from his head.

He chuckled at his panic when the helmet had been wrenched off as the sight of the vampire crumpled at the base of the pillar greeted him, his missing sword buried deeply into the fiend's chest. Titus shuffled over to the corpse, his own body still feeling the after effects of the collision. He stared suspiciously at the body, suspicious that the vampire was merely acting in an effort to lull him into a false sense of security. His gaze turned to the older, grey haired vampire who was currently pacing around the central platform in deep thought, oblivious to the fact that his companion had just been killed. Speaking of which, his gaze flicked back to the one that lay in a twisted heap before him, blood staining her once white shirt a dark red. Grunting at the effort Titus jerked the weapon out of her chest before thrusting it once more into the creature. Assured that the creature was most definitely dead Titus wiped the dripping blood from his short sword on a clean portion of the vampire's coat before sliding it back into its scabbard, though he left the final couple of inches free of the leather sheath so he could pull it free more quickly.

Titus did not bother to sneak as he strode over the final stone bridge, despite the final vampire's current preoccupation it was impossible that he would continue to ignore Titus for too long, making any kind of stealthy approach impossible. Instead Titus adopted the traditional Nordic approach to war, one that had been used since the days of Ysgramor, roar insults as loudly as possible while charging at the enemy. Titus held the crossbow closely as he advanced towards the vampire who hissed, baring his sharp teeth angrily as Titus yelled out an ancient Nordic insult that involved the vampire's mother, the family broadsword and a dog.

Titus's finger itched to squeeze the crossbow's trigger but he resisted the temptation, biting his cheek anxiously as he held the nerves that screamed at him to shoot in check. Instead he waited until the vampire leapt towards him, before he sent the steel tipped blot flying towards the black coated blur. The bolt checked the vampire's charge though the vampire shrugged off the bolt that was embedded in his shoulder as if it was merely a bee's sting. The bolt did however did grant him enough time that Titus was able to draw his sword and close the distance to where his short sword could deliver it's lethal stabbing thrusts.

The vampire parried one such stabbing blow with a contemptuous flick of his war axe, his palm slamming into Titus's chest, the inhuman strength causing Titus to stagger backwards. By the time Titus had regained his balance the vampire had ripped an ornate mace from his waist, the vicious spikes that protruded from his head warning Titus that despite its garish appearance the weapon was quite capable of giving him a messy end. He ducked the scything blow that swept above his head unsure that his shield, already battered and beaten from his previous fights, would hold against one the brutal blows from the mace. Metal shrieked as the war axe clashed with the metal boss at the centre of his shield.

Titus saw a flash of leather boots and sent a wild swing towards them, a grim smile on his face as an image of his old centurion chewing out an old recruit for using the edge of his short sword instead of the point. The blow, though perhaps not appropriate by military standards, was effective. The blade slashed through the boot and severed the tip of the boot taking chunks of toes with it. The vampire howled in pain and fury as it hobbled backwards, the cut may not have been a killing one but it had most definitely hampered that agility that had troubled Titus so much in so in earlier fights. If only there was a similar solution, Titus thought to himself as he readied himself to meet the blur of steel that was the vampire's attack, for the vampire's brute strength.

The mace struck at his head, the speed of the blow giving him no choice but to duck behind his shield and pray to Shor that his shield would hold. Fear wrenched through him as a splintering sound followed the thud of the mace, Titus's heart seemed to stop beating for a few moments before the realisation that the shield had held reinvigorated him. With a roar he launched himself upwards, he parried a blow from the war axe before slicing down on the arm that bore it causing the weapon to clatter to the floor. The vampire cried out in frustration, the creature's mace still lodged in Titus's shield. Titus smiled tiredly as he plunged his sword into the vampire's chest, the blow struck true as the vampire, both his weapons lost, was unable to avoid the killing blow.

Titus twisted the blade, both to do maximum damage and to prevent the blade becoming stuck in the body, before falling onto his own back. He lay like that for a few minutes, covered in blood, breathing heavily as the aches and pains that resulted from a day's worth of hard fights began to catch up with him as the adrenaline left his body. When the ache in his limbs had receded somewhat Titus climbed to his feet, curious as to what purpose the vampires had come to this strange cavern.

"There must be something in this place, you don't build something like this for fun." Titus told himself, his voice hoarse from his battle cries. A small pillar in the centre of the platform caught his eye. The pillar was ornately decorated though in the dim light Titus's tired eyes could not make out what was depicted, as he got closer he saw that there was a large button on the waist high pillar. Titus stared at it for a few moments, his hand hovering above the button, before he shrugged nonchalantly.

"What's the worst that can happen?" He asked himself as he pressed down firmly on the button which creaked as long dormant mechanisms were forced into use once more.

"Fuuuuuuck." Titus cried out, his eyes watering as a spike erupted from the centre of the button, the razor sharp spike driving clear through his palm. Titus stared disbelievingly at his sword hand, his mouth hung open in horror. After a few moments the spike withdrew leaving a large hole, the size of a gold coin, in the palm of his hand. Around him stone grated against stone as the different sections of the platform began to shift downwards, creating a staircase down to a large stone coffin in the center. All this Titus ignored as he continued to stare at his hand, he was crippled. He had seen many men suffer crippling injuries in his time as a legionary and a mercenary, their fate was almost always a miserable one. Men, such as Titus himself, only had one talent and that was the business of war. Without it they were doomed to fall into debt, ending their days once filled with comradeship and glory lying ignominiously in some dirty back alley, their only friend a half empty bottle of beer.

So engrossed was Titus on his suddenly dim future, he failed to notice the stone coffin slide open, revealing a beautiful raven haired girl who stared, a puzzled expression on her face, at Titus.

"Excuse me?" She asked politely but Titus ignored her, his mouth still gaping as he stared at his ruined hand. He'd never be able to hold anything, sword or shield, in his hand again.

"Excuse me?" She asked more forcefully, moving to stand in front of Titus who ignored her once more, mouth working soundlessly as he struggled to cope with what had happened.

"My...my…my hand." Titus managed to stutter, still oblivious to the fact that the woman was staring impatiently at him.

"Oh for…give me your damn hand." The woman growled, wrenching Titus hand towards her, ignoring his cry of pain at the movement. She muttered a few words under her breath before a bright white light emanated from her hands which held Titus's injured tightly, though that may have only been because Titus kept trying jerk his hand back. He cried out as the pain but surprising he was unable to pull his hand from her vice like grip. "There good as new." She huffed when the light died down.

"You fixed it." Titus smiled, the darkness that hand clouded his mind lifting with the restoration of his hand. "I am in your debt miss…"

"Serana." She smiled back. "Just call me Serana."

"Vampire." Titus growled, his eyes catching the white glint of her fangs as she smiled back. Looking closer he noticed the other markers of a vampire, the pale skin that had never seen the light of day, the cat like amber eyes perfect for spying prey in the dark of night. His freshly healed hand sprang for his sword but her shout stayed his hand from sliding it free.

"You said that you were in my debt." She spoke calmly, seemingly unafraid that Titus would attack her. Titus stared furiously at her, his hand itching to draw one of the swords that hung at his waist and lop off her head. He stood like that for well over a minute, 'Serana' matching his gaze fearlessly, before he cursed in frustration, his hand releasing the hilt.

"You can call me Titus." He told her, his voice surly. She may have been right about him being in her debt, her spell had saved him from a miserable future but that damn well didn't mean he had to be polite with a _vampire_.

"A pleasure to meet you." Serana smiled happily, apparently oblivious to Titus's foul mood. "Now that we have got the unpleasantries aside we can leave this 'cave', it's been _forever_ since I've breathed fresh air."

"Now wait a damn minute." Titus held out an arm to stop her from walking past. "I want to know what I have to do for you to release me."

"Take me home course." Serana smiled sweetly before brushing past Titus, she stopped after a few passes to call over her shoulder. "Come on." Titus groaned quietly but did as she asked, though he kept a few paces behind her, he was still not convinced that he wasn't just a handy snack for when she got hungry.

He almost tripped over his feet in surprise when Serana, after seeing that he was indeed following her, swung round to continue walking. Slung across her back was an elder scroll, almost identical to the one that Titus had carried to the Throat of the World. He could not think of any reason why a vampire would need an elder scroll though he was sure that whatever the reason no good could come of it.

"Is that an elder scroll on your back?" He asked, unable to keep the suspicion out of his voice. He had decided that it would be best to determine why she needed done before he took it from her.

"Yes it is." Serana said shortly, the friendliness leaving her voice for the first time.

"Why do you need one?" Titus asked bluntly, smooth talking had never been a talent of his though he'd known legionaries would could sweet talk a drunk out of their last bottle of mead.

"It looks pretty on my back." Serana replied, the playful tone back in her voice. She span round once more to wag a finger at Titus. "Part of your debt involves no taking my elder scroll." She fixed Titus with a knowing smile for a few seconds, laughing when he blushed, before she turned once again to lead him further towards the other end of the platform.

"You could still tell me why you need one." Titus persisted stubbornly.

"I expected to see someone like me when I woke up." Serana said conversationally, now totally ignoring Titus.

"You mean a vampire?" Titus asked sourly, giving up temporarily on the topic scroll.

"Yes that." Serana said airily. "Oh I guess they were here." She remarked as they passed the corpse of the older vampire in the tone of voice that Titus usually associated with a man commenting on the weather. She stared accusingly at him, though Titus got the feeling that it was more for show than any real sense of anger over the death of the vampire.

"How long were you in there anyway?" Titus asked, anxious for information he could bring back to the Dawnguard.

"I have no idea." Serana replied happily. "I feel like it's been a long time. Who's High King of Skyrim?"

"That's actually a matter of debate." Titus replied dryly. The Stormcloaks, though Ulfric had been slain, had not given up. Pledging that they would not lay down their swords until the Empire was driven out of Skyrim they had instigated a fierce guerrilla war that still raged across Skyrim. The Jarls of Skyrim, unable to travel safely, had refused to convene the moot until order had been restored.

"A civil war? Nice to know Skyrim hasn't gotten boring. Who are the contenders?"

"The Empire supports Elisif, the Stormcloaks have rallied behind Harrald the son of the deposed Jarl of the Rift."

"What's the Empire?" Serana asked him uncertainly.

"Well…it's…it's _the _Empire…from Cyrodiil." Titus struggled to explain it to her, flabbergasted that no one could have heard of it.

"Cyrodiil's the seat of an empire now...good for them I guess." Serana shrugged "The 'Empire' been around for long?"

"Yeah, quite a while." Titus replied, stunned by how old she was. Her appearance was that of a woman in her early twenties but he was realising that she was hundreds of years old.

"Huh." Was Serana's only reply, the vampire seemed remarkably unaffected by the revelation, what were a few hundred years when you were immortal?


	5. Chapter 5

"Hmmm Lokil was always fond of enchanting these." Serana mused as they passed a stone gargoyle, Titus stared guardedly at the snarling beast, his eyes roaming from the tree trunk like arms to the wickedly sharp teeth. Titus eyed the statue as he walked away consoling himself that there was only one of the seven feet tall statues. Titus was doubtful that his sword would have been much use against the thick stone skin of the gargoyle. When he was satisfied that the gargoyle was going to remain inanimate Titus turned his back, picking up his pace slightly as he saw Serana disappearing down yet another a tunnel.

He was less surprised when the narrow tunnel opened once more, the sight of the massive cavern where he had found Serana had desensitized him to such sights so when he entered the large stone arena he started slightly but no more while Serana gasped in amazement, spinning round to take in as much of her surroundings as she could. The tunnel had ended at the top of the stands, stone seats carved into the rock descending downwards towards a sand filled pit. A skeleton lay sprawled on one the rows, an ancient sword buried in its ribs. Titus eyes leapt away from the dead skeleton, searching the darkness frantically for more of the ancient corpses, a sense of dread growing in the pit of his stomach.

"It's too damn dark, I can barely see ten feet." He snarled in frustration.

"Humans." Serana muttered before murmuring something else in the strange language of mages. What looked like a miniature sun formed in the palm of her hand, she spoke in again in that elegant language of the magi and the ball of light dimmed before flying up to the towards the ceiling where it bather the entire cave in its white light. "Why you lot can't just see in the dark is beyond me." Serana muttered her irritation at the light, dim as it was, was obvious.

"Oh shit." Titus breathed as many more skeletons were revealed to him by the light, all had died in the midst of a violent fight, their weapons still held in bony hands. Such corpses, killed while battle raged in their veins, were perfect creatures for necromancers to raise.

"Hey look more gargoyles, my mother always thought they were cute. Never got the attraction myself. What are you doing?" The last question was blurted out as Titus's pulled his longsword from its scabbard, tapping it anxiously against the metal rim of his shield.

"I'm…" Titus's reply was cut off as a menacing roar drowned him out. Titus jerked around struggling to locate the source of the roar, gargoyle statues surrounded the arena but as Titus's gaze leapt from one to another he could detect no movement from the stone giants.

"Watch out." Serana yelled out.

"Where?" Titus growled, his head jerking around as he frantically searched every shadow.

"Ummm." Serana stalled, her cat like eyes searching the cave quicker than Titus could have dreamed possible. "There." She yelled her left hand summoning a ball of fire while her right pulled an elven dagger from her waist.

"Where doesn't help me." Titus snarled angrily. He opened his mouth to berate Serana but she shouted again before he was able to.

"Behind you." Titus whirled round only for a grey mass to cannon into his mid-section. The gargoyle lifted him bodily into the air before slamming him back into the air, knocking the breath out of Titus as he was smashed into the unforgiving stone. Some part of Titus's brain registered the blasts of fire and the clash of steel that warned him that Serana was fighting enemies of her own, therefore unable to help him. His longsword scraped on the gargoyles stone hide, the strikes doing only doing damage to Titus's own sword.

"_Fus Ro Dah_." Titus roared out the shout sending the gargoyle, who had been pounding on his chest with its hulking arms, flying into the air. Titus had scrambled onto his feet, his breaths came in ragged gasps now, the shout had drained him almost completely. A shout required energy just like swinging a sword, usually it felt like he had just run up a steep hill in full armour but after the fights he had been through Titus was drained, the only thing keeping on his feet was the adrenaline coursing through him. A skeleton charged at him, Titus didn't bother to strike at it with his sword instead opting to bash the skeleton with his shield, scattering the bones as the shield shattered the necromancy that had animated it.

"You alright?" Titus would've jumped at the sudden appearance of Serana if his body wasn't so exhausted.

"Yeah, I'm great." Titus muttered sarcastically as his sword shattered another skeleton. A bloodcurdling roar announced the reanimation of yet another gargoyle.

"Oh good now we have two." Serana spoke dispassionately as she flung spikes of ice at a group of skeletons advancing towards them.

"Two?" Titus asked despairingly, his sword was useless against the stone monsters and he was doubtful if he could walk if he had to use another shout.

"Yeah. Listen I have an idea…" Serana trailed off.

"I'm not going like this idea am I?" Titus sighed resignedly.

"I can freeze these gargoyles solid, then all we need to do is the smash the ice and they'll crumble. The only catch is that I need time to gather the magicka to cast the spell. You need to keep them…occupied for a while."

"Fantastic." Titus mumbled, too drained to protest. He marched forwards towards one of the hulking stone statues, his sword beating steadily against the rim of his shield. The sharp metallic sound provoking angry growls from the two monsters. He forced his tired legs to run, after the battering his shield had taken against the mace wielding vampire he was unwilling to tax it further. One smashed into the stone seats to his left, chips of stone pelted at Titus, miraculously his eyes but a fragment slashed his cheek open, hot blood leaking from the inch long cut. He stumbled slightly but he continued to climb upwards, his hamstrings burning as he forced himself higher.

His legs felt like they were going to fail when a rocky hand grabbed his right ankle, he was yanked backwards. His ankle was twisted roughly as he crashed face first into the carved stone benches. His eyes widened with fear as he saw the large claw rushing towards his face. He struggled to free his left arm, trapped beneath a rocky foot, yelling in frustration as he realised that there was nothing he could do. He closed his eyes, not wishing to watch the snarling face of the gargoyle as he died. The temperature suddenly dropped making Titus feel like he was standing in the barren streets of Winterhold. His eyes opened to be met with the frozen claw of the gargoyle inches away from his face.

"Fucking bastard." Titus growled angrily, his sword arm smashing the frozen stone that pinned his shield arm to the floor.

"You ok?" He heard Serana call out to him, surprised by the worry he could hear.

"Fine." He replied gruffly, as he crawled out from under his attacker he saw Serana surrounded by the icy shards of what he assumed to be the other gargoyle.

"Aren't you going to ask how I am?" She asked indignantly, hands on her hips as she fixed Titus with an annoyed glare.

"No." Titus replied shortly as he limped towards bottom of the arena, his ankle protesting every time he put weight on it. Serena huffed but did not reply, choosing to explore the arena area and pointedly ignoring Titus.

* * *

A word on the wall seemed to glow as he approached it, tendrils of light reaching out to dance around his head.

"_Gaan._" He whispered the word, feeling the air hum with the power of it. It seemed to burn itself into his mind, he reflected on it for a few moments before turning away, he could mediate on it later when they were out of this damn crypt. Speaking of 'they', he glanced around for Serana who had been ignoring him for last ten minutes or so. She was still exploring the arena area at the bottom of the cave, Titus called out to her but she ignored him, walking further away from him. Titus rubbed his eyes, if he had to swallow his pride and apologise to damned vampire to get out of this cursed cave then so be it.

He was only fifteen feet or so away from Serana when he heard her softly speaking to herself.

"Hey a throne, doesn't look that comfortable. Still this guy obviously liked enough to die in it." Titus moaned when he heard her speak, he had been hoping that there would be no more enemies to fight in this accursed cave but words of power were almost always guarded by a death lord. A death lord was a powerful draugr, an undead Nord whose half rotted body still walked the hallways of crypts and tombs. He lurched forward, ignoring the pain in his ankle as he forced his battered body to sprint towards Serana.

"What do you want?" Serana turned to ask him furiously, Titus didn't answer instead shoving her out of the way as the draugr death lord swung an ancient greatsword towards her. His shield, already battered and cracked, split open with the force of blow. Titus staggered backwards as his shield splintered, teetering on the edge of the ten foot drop to the gladiatorial sands below. He grasped for anything that could save him from, he grimaced as his hand gripped the papery, ancient flesh of the draugr. Unfortunately though the draugr possessed as much strength as a Nord warrior in their prime their thin frame did not carry enough weight, certainly not enough to stop Titus from falling into the arena below.

The draugr followed him down into the arena, barking in its strange language as it plummeted. Titus threw what remained of his shield away, shifting his grip on the longsword to a two handed one. He blocked a strike that scythed towards his head, grinning at the draugr's rotten face.

"After the hell I've been through today it's nice to fight a familiar face." Their swords clashed as he sprang backwards, the two of them exchanging a series of blows, each looking for an opening to deliver a killing blow. The more agile Titus danced around the wild swings of the draugr, ignoring the pain in his ankle that grew worse and worse with every step he took. Realising that he needed to end the fight quickly Titus feinted left before throwing all weight behind a swing from the right, if his gamble paid off then the draugr would be unable to recover his sword from the first attack swing to take advantage of his exposed defences.

His sword cleaved into the draugr, the sharp blade slicing through half rotten flesh and half severing the neck. The draugr flopped lifelessly to the floor, its head held on by a scrap of skin and flesh.

"Come on." Titus groaned as he climbed the ladder cut into the side of the stone wall. "Let's get out of this damn cave." Serana grasped his arm and lifted him up the final rungs, Titus's battered ankle making it difficult for him to climb. Her eyes caught the blood that streaked down Titus's cheek, her tongue brushing against her lips as she stared wolfishly at the bright red blood. Titus gripped the dirk that he kept hidden behind his belt as he caught Serana's eye.

"Are we going to have a problem?" He asked warily.

"No." Serana blushed. "I have more self-control than that." Titus stared disbelievingly at her. "Hey it's been centuries since I last ate, you try and resist food when you haven't eaten in that long."

"Fine but you're still going first." Titus held out a hand in the direction of the exit, his other hand remaining firmly on the hilt of his dirk as he limped behind her.


	6. Chapter 6

Titus hissed, gritting his teeth as the binding on his ankle even tighter. He had a long march ahead of him and he needed his ankle in as good a shape as possible, Skyrim's roads were dangerous even to well-armed bands of men in normal times, they were even worse when bands of hungry vampires stalked along them in the night. Not that the roads would be any safer in the day, Titus thought grimly with a sidelong glance at his newest companion, the recent vampire attacks had grated the peasantry's last nerves and now militia bands hunted for the fiend's lairs during the day. One such band would have no qualms with killing him if they knew he was travelling with one of the night stalkers they feared so much. He stared resentfully at small vial of healing potion that lay beside him on the rotting log, the precious liquid was literally worth its weight in gold and he was annoyed that he had to use some on such a minor injury.

"Will you be able to march tomorrow?" Titus started as Serana's soft voice broke the silence, he had been staring at the fire, the dancing flames and gentle crackling soothing his bitter feelings about how the day had gone.

"I'll be fine." Titus spoke gruffly, poking the fire as he pointedly avoided meeting her gaze. The gods must have been laughing at him, he had joined the Dawnguard to kill vampires and on his very first mission he had ended up escorting one home.

"You don't like me do you?" Serana carried on talking, undiscouraged by Titus's unfriendly tone.

"It's more what you are?" Titus replied coldly. "Your 'kind' have done wrong by me, by joining the Dawnguard I hoped to repay the favour, not babysit a damn vampire."

"Well if you feel that way then why don't you just run back to your precious Dawnguard. I don't need you to _babysit _me." Serana rose to her feet as she shouted at him, the hurt clear in her voice.

"No, no. I'll see you home." Titus said wearily as he waved his hands in calming motion. Serana head titled to the side as she gazed at him, confusion etched upon her pretty features. There was silence as she slowly sat back down on the other side of the fire, still watching Titus who warmed his hands on the fire, the night had grown cold as the hour grew later.

"Why?" She asked quietly when both their tempers had cooled.

"I gave you my word that I would, so I will. My father always used to say that a man is only worth as much as his word."

"He sounds like an honourable man."

"He was." Titus grunted, laying in his bedroll and closing his eyes to halt any further conversation. "You take first watch, wake me in three hours and I'll take over." With that he turned away from her and tried to sleep as the faces of those he had lost haunted him.

He was woken by the warm touch of sunlight on his face, he smiled happily at the sensation for a few moments before he realised what it meant. His eyes snapped open as he climbed swiftly to his feet, years of service in the Legion allowing him to wake quickly. His hand had half pulled his blade from its scabbard when he saw Serana sitting a few feet away gazing down the mountain side towards the horizon where the sun had begun to rise.

"Why didn't you wake me?" Titus asked, the warmth from the well stoked fire and the warm stew bubbling above it cooling his temper.

"I don't really need sleep, it's more of a luxury for…uh…us than a necessity." Perhaps encouraged by Titus's mild manner she continued to talk as Titus hungrily slopped the steaming stew into his wooden bowl, he had always been ravenous after a tough battle. "I'd forgotten what a sunset looked like, even before I was put in that crypt I hadn't one in gods know how long."

"Let's hope it's not too sunny." Titus muttered as he gulped down another mouthful of the delicious stew, despite being a vampire the girl could make a decent meal. "It'll look suspicious with that hood up on a bright day, especially with people all riled up after your kinds attacks." He opened his mouth to continue but thought better of it, it seemed churlish to be rude after the kindnesses she had done him.

"It'll be fine, I can handle myself." Serena replied tartly. She stared off towards the horizon leaving Titus to clean the pot and his bowl as best he could with a fistful of melted show and gravel. When both seemed clean enough he stuffed them back inside his pack before hoisting back on his shoulders, settling the straps more comfortably on his mailed shoulders.

"Come on then, we've got a long way to before we reach Haafingar." Titus chided Serana as he marched past her, his boots crunching on the snow as he made his way down the mountain. He wanted this journey over as soon as possible.

* * *

"He was just a bandit." Serana protested loudly, breaking the silence that had lasted for the past hour as Titus marched ahead of her, his feet thumping into the ground harder than necessary the only indication of the rage bubbling within him. He kept silent as Serana made her latest protest, marching faster in a futile attempt to leave her behind but she just matched his pace, looming right behind his shoulder

"Back off." Titus snapped after they had marched a dozen yards or so.

"No." Serana hissed back. "I don't get why you're so pissed, those bandits attacked us and it's not like you weren't going to kill him anyway. Why do you have such a big problem with that?"

"I have a _problem _with you sucking the life out of a man." Titus growled.

"He definitely deserved it. Unless bandits have changed much in the past four hundred years or so then they're still raping and murdering people whenever they want to."

"I just…I don't…" Titus spluttered unable to properly voice his repulsion at what Serana had just done.

She met his gaze coolly, showing no remorse. "It's how I feed, if I don't eat I die same as you. The man deserved to die and I killed him, just not with the point of my sword like you would have. Vampire or not I'm betting that swords ended more lives than I ever have." Titus clenched his jaw, breaking her gaze so that he could look away, avoiding the uncomfortable truth in that statement. As he raised his head up he saw the tall stone arch of Dragon Bridge came into view, the grey stone reaching up to brush the underside of the grey clouds that floated overhead.

"There's a town coming up so please could keep your head down and your mouth closed."

"Hey." Serana hissed indignantly.

"Not like that." Titus said hurriedly, Serana looked half ready to pounce on him. "Your fangs show whenever you smile. You do that a lot." He explained awkwardly as they climbed up the arch of the bridge, staring down the ravine where, far below, a small blue river winding in the valley like a small blue worm wriggling across the landscape.

"Oh!" Serana exclaimed, her anger deflating like a wineskin being stabbed by a knife. "I didn't realise that you were paying attention to my smiles."

"People faces tell more you about a person than words ever will. I was trying to figure out whether I could expect those fangs in my neck anytime soon" Titus muttered gruffly, looking longingly at the outskirts of Dragon Bridge where, once crossed, Serana would have to stop talking or risk being discovered.

"Yeah sure keep up the tough guy act." Serana laughed. Titus was saved from thinking of a retort by the emergence of a guard from the Four Shields Tavern who, upon seeing the two tired travellers in tattered cloaks, made a beeline for them.

"Hail kinsman." He raised a hand in greeting, the other lying lightly on the hilt of his sword. "What is your business in Dragon Bridge?"

"Just passing through, might buy some supplies. Be gone in less than an hour." Titus replied his hands held out well away from his weapons.

"Who's under the hood?" The guard asked suspiciously, his eyes moving to Serana's cloaked and hooded figure.

"I'm escorting her home." Titus said truthfully.

"Take the hood off miss." The guard growled as he stared at her, his eyes trying to pierce the darkness beneath her hood.

"No." Titus yelled out a bit too quickly, the guard jumping back in surprise, his hand curling tightly round the hilt of his sword. "She's…uh…betrothed to be married, yeah and Bosmer marriage traditions dictate that the bride's face can't be seen by anyone until she's married." Titus garbled out the lie quickly, plucking the ideas from his imagination. Behind him he heard Serana mask her laughter with a horribly fake cough.

"I should still check." The guard said, more uneasy than suspicious now. "Strange people are abroad in Skyrim, vampires attacked a village in the Pale not five days ago."

"I wouldn't, you know how sensitive those elves can be when, better to avoid that particular shit storm. Like I said we'll be gone in less than hour, not enough time to cause any trouble."

"Well…" The guard scratched a wound on his forearm as he thought. "I don't want to be pissing off no elves, those little bastards are murderous with those damn bows of theirs. I suppose as long as you're well away night."

"Far away." Titus agreed, clasping forearms in the traditional Nordic manner. The guard nodded and continued on his patrol, making his way over the bridge.

"Elven betrothal traditions?" Serana laughed as she whispered the words mockingly in Titus's ear.

"Shut up." Titus sighed resignedly as he trudged into town, ignoring the small stabs of pain that erupted from his ankle every time his right foot struck the ground. For once Serana followed his instructions, keeping close to his side as they made their way through the streets of Dragon Bridge.

"Shit." Titus swore softly as they turned on to the main street of Dragon Bridge. "Market day, it had to be market day." The main street of Dragon Bridge, usually quiet bar the occasional villager or guard, had been transformed into a bustling mass of coloured cloth and loud voices. People had come from all over the surrounding countryside to sell or barter their wares, with the hard Skyrim winter fast approaching many had brought wagons and carts so that they could buy supplies for the cold months ahead. Large numbers of people and mead had attracted plenty of people lending the street a festival like atmosphere as adults sang drunken songs and children laughed at bard's antics. Titus looped his sword arm through Serana's keeping her close as drove on through the busy crowd, many of the men had imbibed a little too much mead, their behaviour becoming bawdy and reckless as they wandered through the crowded street. Titus's fear was that one such uninhibited man would attempt steal a kiss from Serana which would mean that her hood would be thrown back, if her fangs and cat like eyes did not give her away then her reaction to the sun's light certainly would. Oath bound as he was to escort Serana safely home, Titus would be obligated to defend from the villagers who would, rightly in his view, want to rid the world of one more vampire. With Serana's vampire abilities and Titus not inconsiderable skill the village would quickly transform from a joyous festival to a miserable bloodbath. Serana for her part did not seem to mind having her arm intertwined with his, indeed she shifted a little closer as they weaved through the busy crowd, her head whirling around as she tried to take in all of the sights, an occasional gasp of amazement as some pretty bauble caught her eye the only sound she made. They stopped only once, then only out of the pressing need to get a new shield for Titus, his old one having been split in two deep in Dimhollow Crypt.

"Stout Nords of Skyrim, do not stand idly by while monsters roam our fair land." The gravelly voice echoed over the village square, drowning out the happy sounds of the market. Glancing around Titus saw a priest, distinctive in his black robe, standing upon a podium that had been built at the far end of the village square, his fist hammering down on the podium as he extolled the virtues of the typical Nord. Titus ignored him assuming that the priest was one of the many that had sprung up after the death of Ulfric Stormcloak, their speeches a way to recruit new blood for the beleaguered remnants of the Stormcloak rebellion.

"Vampires are among us my friends. Parties of warriors, strong and brave, must form to drive them away from our homes, from our children." Titus began to walk faster praying that the priest would not notice him, a mailed warrior such as himself would be exactly the kind of person the fiery priest would want to lead his village militia.

His hopes were dashed when the priest's voice echoed once more across the muddy square. "A warrior, sent by Stendarr himself no doubt, to aid us in our solemn duty."

"Go." Titus whispered urgently in Serana's ear, disentangling his arm from hers as he turned to face the priest's motely congregation.

"I'm not just going to leave you." Serana hissed under her breath. "You'll need if there's fight."

"We're far more likely to have a fight if you stay." Titus retorted. "Just go, that priest looks to be a suspicious bastard and he won't so easily accept any excuse for you to not raise your hood." Serana muttered more protests but Titus stilled them with furious glare and she reluctantly she swept off into the maze of alley ways, whispering that she would meet him on the outskirts of the village.

"Good day kinsman." Titus held up a hand in greeting to the priest, who had climbed of the podium and was now squelching his way through the mud towards him. The priest, who had seemed so tall atop the wooden stage, now appeared small, his awkwardly patched robe and wild black beard evidence that the short priest had endured hardship on his travels.

"So you have heard of my crusade to scourge Skyrim of Molag Bal's filthy minions?" The priest asked, his wild eyes darting over Titus, lingering on the two swords that Titus wore on the left side of his belt.

"I know that many brave Nords are trying to protect their loved ones from the vampire threat." Titus replied carefully, leaving out that he had never heard of the wild eyed priest's 'crusade'.

"So you have heard me." The priest exclaimed, holding his hands out to the sky. "You see my friends, word of Brother Eselram and his band of crusaders has spread across Skyrim. Already worthy warriors such this are marching to aid us in our noble cause." They were murmurs of agreement among the men who had been renewed with a fresh confidence at the sight of Titus. A full suit of armour was expensive, good quality armour was even more therefore only the rich and veteran warriors could afford it. Even then most good quality mail and plate were scavenged from the bodies of defeated foes. Titus's well looked after arms and armour were a signal that he was a veteran warrior, the dents in his pauldrons a signal of recent battle.

"Look Brother Eseltine…"

"Eselram." The priest corrected him sharply.

"Brother Eselram I can't stay and help you, I have other duties to carry out, ones which I am oath-bound to carry out." He held out a hand to still any protests from the priest. "In any case I am already serving with the Dawnguard so I will be carrying the fight to the vampires regardless."

"Nonsense." The priest scoffed his beard, streaked with grey, seeming to bristle he grew angrier. "There is no more sacred duty than that of serving the Gods, such a duty supersedes all others. The cursed vampires murdered Stendarr's loyal servants the Vigilants and they must be avenged."

"And they will be." Titus promised, meeting the priest's wild gaze. "But not today. Good luck on your hunt gentleman." Titus stepped away from the group of men and hurried in the direction of the alley into which Serana had disappeared.

"No true vampire hunter would shirk his responsibilities so easily." The priest shrieked angrily, he had lost face in front of his congregation and was now desperate to regain some of it by using Titus as a scapegoat. "Who was your companion, hooded on such a nice day as if she were afraid of the sun." There were gasp and angry mutterings from the group of villagers behind, some hefting wood axes and sledgehammers into their hands. Titus was walking quickly now, resisting the urge to run which would only validate the priest's claims.

"I say that we take this strange warrior and his companion and his companion prisoner. If we find them guilty of vampirism then we must cleanse them with holy fire." The men roared their approval, waving their weapons in the air. Titus had reached the alley and, as soon as he was out of sight, he broke into a run. Titus slid as he dodges through the alleyways, crashing into wooden walls as his boots failed to gain any traction in the ground. He did not doubt that could win in a fight against the priest's ill trained rabble, he would kill the bravest first, the rest losing heart as they saw their friends die on his sword but he had no wish to kill men who merely wanted to do what he himself wanted to do, hunt vampires.

"Why are you running?" Serana asked him as he sprinted out of Dragon Bridge, throwing a nervous glance backwards to see if Brother Eselram's militia were pursuing him. The streets behind him were clear but the north of Dragon Bridge was a maze of alleyways and any pursuers could be less than corner away. Titus dragged Serana along with him as he sprinted for the tree line, ignoring her protests as he pulled her towards the tree line. Once they were about thirty yards into the woodland Titus released his grip on Serana's arm and sat down on a relatively dry patch of ground, leaning against a gnarled old oak as heaved the cold air into his burning lungs.

"What the hell was that?" Serana asked furiously, squatting down in front of him.

"Priest turned nasty." Titus managed to spit the words out between breaths of air, he hadn't run for so long in full mail for a while and it had been made even harder by the muddy mess that had been the ground. His side ached from where he had slammed into the building wall, compounding his bruises from the previous day's battle at Dimhollow crypt.

"Yeah well priests have a tendency to do that." Serana growled venomously, spitting to show her opinion of priests. Titus cocked his head and looked questioningly at Serana who blushed.

"What's your problem with priests?"

"Nothing." Serana said quickly before she swiftly changed the subject. "Do you think they'll follow us?"

Titus continued to stare at Serana for a few moments before he answered. "I don't think so, however zealous they maybe those men will be unwilling to venture too far from Dragon Bridge, they'd be leaving their families vulnerable. It just means I'll have to take the long way back to Fort Dawnguard." He finished with a sigh.

"Sorry." Serana murmured, glancing down to Titus's foot, his once white bandage peeking out over the top of his boot.

"I'll be fine." Titus muttered gruffly, he had seen the white flash of Serana's fangs as she had apologised, the sight reminding him that however normal Serana seemed she was still a vampire, a monster who fed on humans. He climbed to his feet, declining Serana's offer of a helping hand before marching off, he would skirt the main road until they were far enough away from Dragon Bridge to be sure of avoiding of the mad priest's patrols, Serana following silently in his wake.

* * *

"Well this is home." Serana said, waving a hand in the direction in case Titus had somehow managed to miss it.

"You call this place a home." Titus replied in amazement, staring up at the foreboding pointing towers of the huge castle which dwarfed the small island upon which it was built. The heavy mist only adding to terrifying effect of the gothic castle.

"Well I live here so…yes it is…home. Sure it's not as cosy as other people's homes but vampires don't feel the cold anyway so that's not really an issue. Besides there are a few us living in there anyway, it's nice to have the extra space."

"Point taken. So I guess this is goodbye." Titus glanced towards the castle relieved that he wouldn't have to step inside it, the very thought making his blood seem colder.

"Oh I was hoping you'd escort me inside, I'm not completely sure that they're still there, it's been gods know how long. Besides my father may have some kind of reward for you."

"No rewards worth stepping into that cursed place, it looks like it's been plucked out of a horror story." Titus muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I'd be happy to." Titus smiled with a confidence that he did not have.

"Good." Serana bounced a little nervously. "Let's head inside then." They were half way up the ramp, only twenty or so feet from the gatehouse when she stopped him once more.

"What is it now?" Titus asked nervously.

"Nothing. Well almost nothing. The members of my family are a little…unorthodox."

"They're vampires." Titus said bluntly.

"Well yes but I doubt they're like any you've ever met. Just try to keep your swords in their scabbards."

"I can manage that." Titus muttered, annoyed at the insinuation that he was some kind of sword waving barbarian. Serana nodded, content with his answer and resumed her slow walk towards her home.

Titus felt more and more uncomfortable as he followed Serana deeper into the castle which was garishly decorated with tapestries and banners. The decorator seemed particularly fond of the colour red which made sense, Titus supposed, since the inhabitants were all vampires bar one or two thralls that seemed to serve as servants and guards. It was the vampire part that made him most uncomfortable, he was all too aware that to a vampire he was an enticing meal and he had just walked into their lair with nothing but a guarantee, from another vampire no less, that he wouldn't be the evening's main course.

Though it seemed that Serana did have some sway in the large castle, everyone they met would gasp in shock and delight at the sight of her before giving her a low bow and murmuring 'Mistress Serana' as they kissed her hand. Serana accepted it gracefully and although Titus detected some embarrassment at it, she seemed used to the 'royal' treatment which puzzled him. Although he had never met any royalty, he had met all of Skyrim's jarls at one time or another and Serana lacked the air of entitlement that they had carried with them. He considered asking her about it but thought better of it, partly because he was sure that she would avoid the subject but mainly as he did not wish to draw any unnecessary attention to himself.

They turned a final corner walked out onto a balcony overlooking large feasting hall, staircases on either side leading down to ground of what looked to Titus to be more of a royal court than the traditional Nordic set up in feasting halls which involved two long tables that's stretched the length of the hall. Here there were two 'L' shaped tables that flanked a small central table. A large throne and two smaller chairs sat behind this small table though only one man sat behind it, a handsome dressed in an expensive shirt and trousers which were overlaid with an expensive black breast plate. He lounged causally on the throne as the other members of the court chatted, joked and ate.

It was eating part that caused Titus's hand to fly to the hilt of his sword, a tremendous amount of self-control the only thing keeping him from sliding it free of its scabbard.

"They're feasting on humans." He hissed angrily at Serana as he stared, horrified at the humans who lay like suckling pigs on large platter on the tables.

"Just calm down." Serana hissed back urgently. "They're not what you and I would call human any more. The inhabitants here have bred them to be docile, they're more like cattle than humans now."

"They're still human." Titus growled.

"Maybe so but they are also mindless, unable to look after themselves anymore. They certainly aren't worth you throwing your life away in some foolish attempt at heroics." She fixed Titus with a steely glare until he slowly released his vice like grip from his sword, letting drop to hang loosely by his side.

"Serana you have returned to me." A loud voice boomed through large hall, prompting gasps and whispers as the entire feast hall turned to stare at the two newcomers to their hall. Titus's hand twitched as a dozens of cat like eyes turned to stare at him, he fought the urge to grab at it once more though he allowed his hand to rest lightly on the hilt.

"Father." Serana said coolly as she made her way behind, Titus following her lead in this strange new environment. The word father shocked him, Serana seemed nothing like this man, this lord whose clothes, whose manner, whose very voice seemed drip with arrogance, wealth and a sense of superiority.

"You see everyone, my long lost daughter returns at last. I trust you have my elder scroll?"

"Yes father." Serana seemed unperturbed by her father's apparent concern for the elder scroll over her, she almost seemed to accept it.

"Excellent." He smiled widely, turning his attention to Titus. "And who might you be? I'm curious to know the name of a mortal that would so brazenly walk into their hunter's lair."

"Titus."

"The Nord with an Imperial's name." The vampire laughed, the rest of the court joining in. Titus shifted until the laughter subsided and those cold, calculating eyes were gazing at him once again. "I am Lord Harkon mortal, now what am I to do with you?"

"He saved me and brought back to you father." Serana interrupted her father's musings which had been sweeping over Titus's body, lingering on his neck.

"Really?" Harkon asked though Titus got the distinct impression that he was that bothered by the detail. "Still it wouldn't do to seem ungrateful now would it?"

"No father." Serana agreed, a relieved smile appearing on her face.

"Well mortal allow me to show you what true power is." Harkon's feet left as he levitated into the air, curling into the foetal position as he let out a bloodcurdling howl of pain and rage. He seemed to be enveloped in an angry red light that blinded Titus, forcing him to raise a hand to protect his eyes.

"What the…" Titus gaped as the light faded and a new grotesque form had replaced Harkon's former human one. He would pulled his longsword free and attacked if Serana had not gripped his arm tightly, her superior strength preventing him sliding the cold steel out of its scabbard.

"Stay calm." She whispered through gritted teeth as Titus stared, horrified, at the vampire lord's true form. The sinewy limbs were freakishly long as if they had been stretched out on rack, the lord's skin was bluish grey and his once handsome face now more akin to that of a gargoyle with rows of razor sharp teeth in large mouth though the vampire fangs were still visible. This monster, this 'true form' had wings as well but Titus could not see how they kept Harkon suspended in the air as they were nothing more than bone with the thinnest scraps of the skin, they seemed more decorative that practical but as evidenced by Harkon's suspension in the air, they worked well enough. If Titus had had any doubts about whether vampires were truly monsters or just misunderstood creatures trying survive he had no doubts now.

"Behold the form of a true Vampire Lord, those of us who kept our blood pure and untainted from mortals, who can trace their gift directly to Lord Molag Bal himself." Harkon's voice had changed, becoming deeper, laced with malice, if a voice ever sounded evil then Harkon's new one was it. "What do you think of my new form?"

Serana gave him a warning squeeze on his arm as he opened his mouth to speak. "It's…terrifying." Titus mustered up a cocky grin. Serana's grip tightened further.

Harkon barked out a vicious laugh, Titus almost sighing in relief as Serana released her grip on his arm. "A most pleasing description mortal. How would you like to be to take this form? To have all the power of a vampire lord?"

Titus swallowed heavily, he already knew his answer, he just didn't know how Harkon would take it. He couldn't become a vampire not after all they had done to him, to his family. It would be a betrayal to take Harkon's offer.

"I'm sorry but I must refuse your offer." Titus spoke politely, not wishing to anger Harkon any more than necessary. Harkon snarled angrily, Titus prepared himself for a fight, determined that he would take a few of these strange vampire lords with him before he was torn apart by the rest.

"I am very disappointed that you would refuse my offer." Harkon growled after a few tense seconds had passed. Serana moved to speak but he held up a clawed hand to silence her. "In recognition of your services I shall spare your life this once but if we meet again mortal it will not end well for you." A ball of red light exploded from the vampire lord's palm, smashing through his mail as if it wasn't there and crashed into his chest, it felt as though someone had struck him with a heavy wooden club.

"What was…" Titus tried to ask him what had struck him when his vision began to get hazy. He fell to one knee, his body swaying as he fought to stay upright. After a minute the effort became too great and collapsed on his side, his vision fading into black.


End file.
